Hope Undying: The Legend of Katara
by PaintedLadySpirit
Summary: The Fire Nation has attacked, and when the world needed the Avatar most, he vanished. This story explores a world where Avatar Aang did not reappear after a hundred years. Instead, a new Avatar has taken his place - a waterbender named Katara. Alternate Universe.


I've had this idea in my head of an alternate reality A:TLA where Katara was the Avatar. I wouldn't be satisfied until I put it out there into the world, so I just started writing. Since my schedule is about to get a whole lot busier, I have no idea when/if I will be able to continue this. If I can't, this intro will remain a one-shot drabble for the time being. Feedback is greatly appreciated, and would definitely encourage me to continue!

Though this story will reflect canon in many ways, certain plot points will be modified . If you spot anything that defies canon, rest well assured that I made those changes intentionally.

The cover art is my own work.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Kya had been busy washing a basin full of linens when the black snow began to fall. She didn't realize anything was wrong until the usual background noise from the village changed to something decidedly more frantic.

Turning away from her chore, Kya listened closely to the sounds going on outside the hut. There were a cacophony of male voices - voices that she didn't recognize. She'd made the decision to go out and investigate when someone opened the doorflap and let themselves in. Kya spoke before she registered who it was.

"Hakoda, what is going on out-?"

That wasn't her husband. The man who had opened walked into the hut was decked out in deep red and gold. Fire nation, no doubt. Her muscles instinctively stiffened, and she slowly stood to face the soldier who appeared to be some kind of commander.

"Are you the wife of the Chief?" He asked, his voice more aggressive than necessary for such a mundane question.

"I am, yes. May I ask why you're here? The Southern Water Tribe has no business with the Fire Nation," She said as calmly as she could, her eyes shifting every now and then to the doorway. There was a commotion outside now, the tundra alive with the sound of shouts and hurried footsteps in the snow.

"No business, you say? We have reason to believe there is a Waterbender in your midst." The soldier said, his gold eyes almost looking through her, as though she wasn't worthy of his gaze.

"You're wrong. There are no Waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe. The Fire Nation made sure of that fifty years ago, as I'm _sure_ you know," Kya stood tall as she spoke, using an air of confidence to hide her uneasiness. She glanced to the doorway once more, silently praying that her husband wasn't too far away. An unfamiliar voice was shouting outside now, another Fire Nation soldier no doubt.

The commander scoffed at her words, taking a step closer. Kya moved back slightly at this, but she held her ground as the taller man loomed over her. _Spirits, please protect this tribe._

"We are here to tie up loose ends. Tell me where the Waterbender is and we will leave your little village intact," He said, the helmet over his head casting a shadow that made him look all more sinister.

Kya began to wring her hands as she hesistated to answer. _I won't let them take her._

She was about to speak up when the tent flap moved slightly, a small girl appearing in the doorway. Kya frowned briefly, before correcting her expression. She relaxed her face considerably and looked past the commander at Katara.

"Go find your daddy, okay?"

"Mom, I'm scared."

"It's okay sweetie, everything is fine. I'll handle this."

Kya stared into her daughters eyes, wishing nothing more than to hold the girl tightly in her arms. She resisted the urge, knowing that the safest place for Katara to be was far away from this Fire Nation soldier. Forcing a small reassuring smile, Kya waited for Katara to turn and run out of the hut, leaving the two adults alone again. Once Katara was out of sight, Kya looked back at the soldier who had turned to face the doorway when Katara appeared. His mouth had turned downwards in a frown.

"The girl. Is she the waterbender?"

"No!" Kya couldn't help but shout, shaking her head. "She isn't a waterbender. There's only one waterbender in this tribe and it isn't my daughter."

Kya flinched as the command made a dagger of fire appear out of his fist, pointed towards her. He stepped closer now, towering over her with his face a foot away from hers. H was so close she could see the redness in his cheeks. His pale skin wasn't accustomed to the frigid Water Tribe air.

"If it isn't the girl, then who is it?" He said, his words like a growl low in his throat. A wolf in human clothing.

"Me!" Kya shouted, bending the water from her washing basin into the air to form a whip which she flung towards his face. The water splashed hard against his helmet, knocking him back a few steps as he stumbled. He sputtered for a moment, wiping the water from his face with a glare.

"You'll pay for it with your life, savage!"

* * *

"Kya!"

Chief Hakoda shouted with all his might as he ran towards the hut, little Katara in his arms. The frigid air burned his lungs as he picked up speed, careful not to slip in the ice and snow. He ignored the shouts from passing soldiers, Fire Nation and Water Tribe alike, who tried to get his attention. Nothing would stop him from getting to his destination. From the look on Katara's face when she ran up to him, he was needed most with his wife.

The familiar hut reached his line of sight soon enough, and he slowed his pace almost to a stop. It was eerily quiet in this part of the village now - only distant shouts and clangs of weapons were audible. Where he stood, there wasn't a soul. He called for his wife again, hoping to see her poke her head from the doorway. There was no response.

His heart was racing now, even more than when he'd been running. Something was wrong. Deeply wrong.

_I'm too late, aren't I?_

Part of him had always known this day would come. After all, it had been more than fifty years since the last Fire Nation raid on the Southern Water Tribe. It was only a matter of time until they came to take care of the new generation of Waterbenders. It was a blessing that they'd even lasted this long without a day of black snow.

No longer moving forward, Hakoda gently moved his daughter from her position latched around his neck. Placing her onto the ground, he kneeled to match her height, and took her face in his calloused hands.

"Aren't we gonna go help mom?" Katara asked, her eyes framed in tears. Her lip trembled as she waited for an answer.

"Katara, I need you to wait outside. Do you understand?" Hakoda said, a gentle expression on his face despite the tense nature of his voice.

"Okay, I will."

Despite being so young, Katara put on a brave face as her father embraced her. He held her for a moment or two before standing, walking away from her and towards the silent hut.

* * *

"Your mother... is gone from this world."

Hakoda's eyes were still red as he spoke to his young children, who he had gathered with their grandmother in her home. The Fire Nation soldiers were long gone now, having satisified their bloodlust. Now all that was left was to care for the wounded. There had only been one fatal casuality that day.

Sokka was the first to respond to this news, a mixture of shock and sorrow crossing his face. He looked back and forth between his father and grandmother, as though he expected a sign that this was all a trick.

"What? Mom is gone? Y-you mean t-they..."

Tears were running down the boy's cheeks now, and his expression crumbled as he found himself unable to speak. Gran Gran was quick to bring the boy into her arms, petting his head as she whispered comforting words. Her own cheeks were stained with tears, a sight neither of the children had ever seen before.

Katara, unlike her brother, was silent. She had stood up at the news, frozen in her spot until an overwhelming feeling washed over her. Without a word Katara dashed out the door into the freezing cold, running aimlessly as her vision blurred. She half-heard her father yelling after her, but his desperate calls did nothing to stop her. She ran as fast as she could, nearly falling over several times as she passed by hut after hut. Eventually she reached the outer edge of the village, where the ice met the ocean.

Katara was overcome with emotion as she came to a stop on the ice. Though it was now dark as the sun had set, she could see tiny moving dots against the horizon. Fire Nation ships.

_They took mom away._

"Katara!"

_Why would they take her from me?_

"Katara, where are you?"

_She's never coming back..._

"Katara!"

Ignoring her father's ever nearing calls, Katara's tiny fists squeezed tight as a new emotion took over - intense anger. Despite the frigid air, the young girl felt a sudden warmth sweep through her entire body. It starts in her chest and coursed through her veins, as though she were being heated from the inside. Her fingers and toes tingled, and a sense of weightlessness surrounded her. Almost like floating.

A sudden wind came, sweeping against her face and whipping her hair around wildly. The wind surrounded her like a cyclone, moving around and around in a frenzy. Katara could no longer control her movements as she felt herself slowly lift off the ground and rotate back towards the village.

It was then that Hakoda appeared, having heard the racing wind. The sight was enough to stop him cold. Katara was levitating five feet off the ground now, and her blue eyes had changed. They were bright white and glowing intensely.

It finally happened. It was just as they'd feared since the day she was born.

Katara was the Avatar.


End file.
